Just getting into building boards, this is my second board and I am really happy with how it looks so far. I just finished glassing it, using epoxy resin, one layer on the bottom and two on the top. My problem is trying to hide the overlap on the edges. One there seems to be a color change with the extra layers, and the second problem is it takes forever to sand it down so it is smooth with the rest of the bottom of the board. What do you guys do to deal with the over lap? Is there a better way to do it so it is cleaner?
Looks normal to me though im a backyard hack. Get yourself a cheap random orbital sander and those lumps n bumps will disappear pretty quick. Or, you can cover those laps ( just the laps ) with a coat of hot coat, then sand, and then hotcoat the whole board.
Your board looks great for a second attempt, but I think you overlooked a really crucial step. Did you put a fill coat over the fiberglass cloth lamination? It's also referred to as a 'hot coat', 'top coat', or 'sanding coat'. This layer of resin will be sandable and will fill in the weave and hide the overlaps.
Looks like you did a great glass job. I agree with what Rand said, seems like there is no hot coat on there. Grind the laps a little and hotcoat, then sand. I think after the hot coat and final sanding the laps and color change (can barely see it) will all blend together.
thanks guys, I know i gotta do a hot coat, just looking for advise about cleaning up my laminate coat before laying down my epoxy for the hot coat. The overlap just looks so messy, I’ll take an orbital sander to it tomorrow and see how it goes, What grit do you reccomend? 120? Should I sand the whole board before laying down my hot coat? Also do I need to hot coat with in a certian amount of time?
I also have a question about concave on the bottom of the surf and what it does. The Channel Island Biscuit has some concave in the bottom while my board has little to none. How will this effect how my board rides? Is it common to have a flat bottom on a board?
I’m only on my second board so I’m still trying to figure concave out myself, but my first board has a totally flat bottom and rides great. It’s 5’ 9" x 18.5" x 2.25". I’ve been reading a lot on concaves and from what I’ve read, sounds like concaves are preferred. Definitely more common with boards I’ve ridden.
Concave loosens it up for side to side or rail to rail but slows it down for glide or drive. This bottom creates turbulence or cavitation and causes little bubbles to free the board up to move and transition quickly in turns. Concaves are for turning and “Vee” is for trim speed coming out of turns.
Alltrue and Wbrame, do yourselves a favor and really study these different design elements so you know ahead of time what to plug into a shape for the type of ride and wave you want. A flat bottom will make it fast but not turn so “snappy”. You’ve got to ask yourself, What do I want this board to do? Not what is the popular shape of the day.This is the key and beauty of shaping…you personalize yours and others’ boards for their style. Like life, the more you know, the more you can do. Research, ask questions, and Keep Going. And KEEP asking questions if you don’t know or even if you do.
I wanted to keep this board on the simple side, and at the same time make a board I will enjoy. Concave was something I never really looked into, but I think i will do lots of research on it for my next board. I am a rookie surfer and I have not ridden short boards yet so I am taking this biscuit to Maui with me next month and hopfully I can tackle riding a 6 foot board!
got both sides hot coated, now I’m looking for some insight on the placement of my fin boxes. I bought the probox ones, so as far as installing them it seems easy, but where can I find information about proper placement for a thruster fin setup?
That came out great for your second board! For fin placement check out Greenlight’s Versa Square. The thing is relatively easy to use once you figure it out and you can have almost cookie cutter fin placement on all your boards. Nice work.
“You’ve got to ask yourself, What do I
want this board to do? Not what is the popular shape of the day.This is
the key and beauty of shaping…you personalize yours and others’
boards for their style. Like life, the more you know, the more you can
do. Research, ask questions, and Keep Going. And KEEP asking questions
if you don’t know or even if you do.”
Truer words have never been spoken! That quote should be embedded in the top banner bar of Swaylocks!
If everyone shaped what’s best for themselves and not what pros are riding imagine how surfing in general would progress…
alltrue:
Nice work. That board looks like it turned out great
What about changing the gloss on the board, I’d rather have that flat look to the board instead of this intense gloss it has right now. Do i just take a scotchbrite pad to the whole board or is there a better way?
